Chris Lake

About Christopher Lake

Jim Stovall and Ray H. Hull, Ph.D., recently published a book called The Art of Communication. I think Jim and Ray could not have picked a better time to release this book because it appears that effective communication has been lost in today’s world. I would like to point out that not everyone has lost the ability to communicate properly, but the manner we all communicate can be improved.

Recently, I visited the offices of a large coal company near Wise, Virginia. I was pleasantly surprised to find that positive encouragement signs were posted all over the building. These signs helped to reinforce the idea that every employee was important and beneficial to the company. One sign read, “Behind every strong coal miner is an even stronger family who stands by them and loves them will all their heart.”

About twenty years ago, I organized a three hour course at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise that was based on Napoleon Hill’s 17 Principles of Success. At that time, I was still working as a bank president and had not begun working for the Napoleon Hill Foundation yet. Additionally, I taught the first course called "Keys to Success" at UVA-Wise about twelve times after that. I read numerous books on success that would complement the course material and tried to bring real-life examples to the class.

At the present time, it seems that people all over the world are either attending, watching, or reading about the Winter Olympic Games that are being held in South Korea. There are many athletes proudly representing their country in this friendly global competition. I believe that there is nothing wrong with watching the Winter Olympics, or any sporting event for that matter, but just like in life, too many people are spectators and not participants.

Napoleon Hill’s philosophy strongly emphasizes optimism and faith in yourself as key ingredients for achieving long-lasting success. Applied Faith is one of the most important principles and it is listed as one of Napoleon Hill’s “Big Four,” along with Definiteness of Purpose, Going the Extra Mile, and the Mastermind. Napoleon Hill defined faith as the head chemist of the mind. Hill said that when faith was blended with the vibration of thought, the subconscious mind picks up the vibration and translates it into its spiritual and physical equivalent.

This year will be my eighteenth year as Executive Director of the Napoleon Hill Foundation, and I am still amazed at the influence Napoleon Hill has around the world. Recently, I was glancing at my notes and realized that the Foundation had worked on contracts with publishers from about six countries, in only one day. Napoleon Hill died in 1970 and he continues to be a well-known author, all around the world, nearly fifty years after his death.

The Napoleon Hill Foundation Board of Trustees and employees are proud of the accomplishments the Foundation has made since 1962, the year the Foundation was formed. The same motto that was adopted in 1962 still guides our work today, “Making the world a better place in which to live.” One of the goals of the Napoleon Hill Foundation was to make Napoleon Hill’s teachings on success available all over the world. Napoleon Hill’s books are popular in many countries such as Russia, Japan, Korea, Brazil, France, Germany, and many others. With the help of over 300 publishers all over the world, Dr. Hill’s books sell better today than when he was alive.